Automatic safety elevator-gate.



J. H. COLE.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY ELEVATOR GATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAILZS, I9I6.

Patented May 15, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

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1. H. COLE.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY ELEVATOR GATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, I916.

Patented May 15, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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JAY HARDING COLE, OF BINGHAMTON, NEN YORK.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY ELEVATOR-GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1917.

Application filed March 29, 1916. Serial No. 87,547.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAY HARDING COLE, a cltizen of the United States,residing at Binghamton, in the county of Broome and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic SafetyElevator-Gates; and I hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is a novel improvement in elevator gate operatingdevices, and its object is to provide novel means whereby the gate atany floor may be operated automatically, at the will of the operator;but if it is not desired to have such gate open it will remain closedduring the passage of the car past such floor; but the operator bysimply pulling a rope or other device can set automatically in operationthe means for opening the elevator gate at the desired floor. Means areprovided whereby the gate may be quickly opened as the car nears theproper position at the floor where the gate is to be opened; and wherebysuch gate can be quickly closed just after the car starts away from saidfloor.

T he invention is particularly adapted for use with freight elevators;but can be readily adapted for use with various kinds of elevators andfurnishes eifective protection against improper opening of the gates;and requires no physical exertion on the part of the operator in openingor closing a gate while at the floor.

I will explain the invention as adapted for use in connection with gatesof freight elevators, but the invention is not restricted to anyparticular form of gate, or kind of elevator, as, when once understood,its applicability to various kinds of elevators will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention,and I will describe the invention with reference thereto, and summarizein the appended claims the novel features and combinations of parts forwhich protection is desired.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of part of an elevator shaft showing afreight elevator, gates, and gate operating mechanism; the elevatorsupposed to be ascending, and the trip on second floor being shown-inoperative position for engagement with co-acting devices on the car, andthe trip on the lower floor being shown in inoperative position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view showing a gate opened, the car inposition at the floor, and the trip justin position to be disengaged onthe further upward movement of the car.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view showing the parts in the positionshown in Fig. 1 in full lines.

Fig. a is a reverse view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the trip controlling devices.

Fig. (3 is a detail.

Referring to the drawings, the car 1 is shown as of the ordinary freightelevator type, and has side standards 1 guided by upriglnis 2 at thesides of the elevator shaft in the usual manner. At each of the floorsthe openings in the shaft may be provided with suitable doors or gates;the gates are shown as vertically movable and made in two sections. Asshown the lowermost section 8 of the gate is adapted to slide insuitable grooves 8 in uprights at the sides of the shaft opening, andthe upper section 3 is adapted to slide in suitable guides 3 in saiduprights.

Ropes or cables 3 are connected to opposite ends of the lower section 3and run over suitable guide sheaves or pulleys 3 and are attached to alarge grooved wheel or drum t rotatably mounted on a stud P", attachedto a support at the side of the shaft, and preferably above the gate. Byproperly turning this drum 4; the ropes 3 are wound up thereon andconsequently the gates 3 lifted. .Preferably gate section 3 rises besidethe gate section 3 and the upper bar of section 3 engages pins or stops3 on the upper bar of the section 3 and picks the latter section up sothat both of them rise together. By usingtwo sections the gates can bereadily operated in low ceiling rooms; but it is not necessary to employtwo sections unless it is desired to make a very high barrier in frontof the shaft opening.

Attached to one face of the drum l is a small drum P around which iswrapped a cable or chain 45 which passes over guide pulleys at to andbetween upper and lower pulleys 4t (mounted in a slot in a guard plate 2attached to the side of the adjacent upright 2) and connected to amovable and laterally swingable member 5 which is preferably slidablyandswingably mounted on a vertically disposed rod 5"-, securely attachedto the said upright. The cable 4 is of such length that when the gate isclosed the said member 5 stands about centrally of the rod, and if thismember be either raised or lowered it will pull the cable 4? and causedrums l and e to rotate, and thus raise the gates, see Fig. 2; and whenthis slidable member 5 is released the gates will lower by gravity andwill cause the said member to return to. its normal position.

Each member 5 normally projects outwardly toward the related gates andout of the way of the car, when in normal inoperative position (Fig. 1).hen it is desired. to operate the gate at any floor the related member 5must be swung inward to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 so that atrip finger 5" on said member 5 will project into position to be engagedeither by an upper abutment or catch member 1 or a lower abutment orcatch member 1 attached to upright 1 or side of car and projectingthereform, (see Figs. 2-3). The upper catch 1 is adapted to engage thetrip finger 5 when the car is ascending if said trip 5 is thrown inoperative position; and the catch 1 is adapted to engage the trip finger5 when the car is descending, if said trip be thrown into operativeposition.

The trip finger may be thrown into operative position when desired bythe opera-.

tor on the car by means of a pull cord 6 of which there is one at eachfloor; each pull cord extends from a point near the bottom of the floorup to and over a pulley 6 and 6 near the ceiling, and then down besideupright 2 to and between upper and lower pulleys 6 mounted in theguard-plate 2 beside the pulleys t and is attached to the member 5 atthe side thereof opposite the attachment of cable 4 thereto. When thecord 6 is pulled it will swing the member 5 from its inoperativeposition, as shown in Figs. 3 and L, to its operative position as shownin Figs. 2 and 5; in which position the trip finger 5 will be inposition to be engaged by either catch 1 or 1 on the car. When swunginto this operative position the trip finger 5 may be retained thereinby any suitable means, such as a spring catch 5 attached to the member 5and adapted to engage a catch plate 5 attached to the adjacent side ofthe upright- 2, see Figs. 2, 3 and 5; so that when properly turned themember 5 is retained in position to have trip 5 engage catch fingers 1or 1 and when so engaged the trip will be moved vertically on rod 5 andin such movement disengage catch 5 from the retainer 5.

If the car is ascending and the proper member 5 is shifted to theposition shown in Fig. 3 its finger 5" will be engaged by the uppercatch 1 and held thereby as the car ascends. The catch 1 is so locatedon the car that it engages the trip 5 before the car comes to positionat the floor where the gates are to be opened, and as the car ascends toposition the member 5 is carried up and through the cable t andconnections causes the gate to fully open by the time the car has cometo position at the floor where the car is to stop and the gates beopened. If the car should next descend, instead of ascending, the member5 would lower with the car and the gates would close quickly by gravity.

If the car should ascend. the trip finger 5 will be automaticallydisengaged from the catch 1 by means of a suitably located cam plate 7attached to the upright 2 in such position that as the car again startsupward the trip finger 5, which remains in engagement with catch 1 andis upheld thereby, will come into contact with the said cam and the camwill force the trip finger out of engagement with the catch 1", and assoon as the trip finger is disengaged from the catch the gates will dropby their own weight and return member 5 to normal position.

If the car should be descending and the operator wants to open the gatesat any floor, after he leaves the floor next above he pulls the rope 6so as to throw the trip member 5 at the floor where he wants to open thegates into position to be engaged by the lower catch 1 as the cardescends.

The catch 1 will thereupon engage the trip finger 5 and force the latterdownward, in so doing it will through the connections cause the rotationof the related drums 4t, 45 and through them cause the gates to beraised at the desired floor just before the car comes into position atthe floor where the stop is to be made; and the gates are held raisedwhile the car is at such floor by reason of the catch 1 holding down thetrip finger 5".

If the car should then re-ascend, :the

gates would close as their weight will cause Y the member 5 to moveupwardly to its normal position; but if the car is going to descendmember 5 will be drawn downward by the catch 1 and into engagement witha suitably located cam plate 7 which is so arranged as to force tripfinger 5 out of engagement with catch 1 and as soon as it is disengagedthe weight of the gates will through the connection return the member 5to its normal neutral position.

A sliding member 5, the connected gateactuating devices, and acontrolling cord 6, should be arranged at each floor; so that theoperator can shift the proper member 5 at any point where he desires tostop. When the elevator is going up if he wishes to open a gate at acertain floor he would pull cord 6 at the floor at which he desires tostop before the car reaches such floor landing; or if the car isdescending he would pull cord 6 of the proper floor just before the carreaches such floor landing. As only a short movement of the car isrequired to fully open the gates this can be very readily done. If aperson at any floor wants to get on the car he can pull the cord 6 atthe floor where he is standing and cause the gates to be raised as thecar reaches such floor.

I have illustrated one practical means of carrying out the invention,and when understood others skilled in the art can readily embody theinvention in various mechanical forms within the scope thereof, and I donot consider the invention restricted to the particular embodimentillustrated in the drawings.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In combination an elevator car and elevator gate; a slidable andlaterally movable member adjacent the gate, a trip on said member,operative connections between said slidable member and the gate tooperate the latter when the slidable member is moved vertically, meansfor swinging the said trip into position to be engaged by catches on thecar, catches attached to the car adapted to engage the trip when inoperative position, devices adapted to hold the trip in position to beengaged by the catches on the car, and means adjacent the path of thecar adapted to cause the trip to disengage the catches on the car whenthe slidable member has made suflicient movement.

2. In combination with an elevator carand gate; a cable and drum foroperating said gate, a slidable swingable member adjaceut the gate, atrip on said member, means whereby said slidable member operates thedrum, means for swinging said slidable member into position to have thetrip engaged by members on the car, members attached to the car adaptedto engage the trip when in operative position and cause same to movewith the car, devices adapted to hold the trip in position to be engagedby the members on the car, and means to cause the trip to disengage themembers on the car, when the slidable member has made a sufiicientmovement.

3. In combination with an elevator car and floor gate; of a slidablelaterally swingable member adjacent the path of the elevator, meansmanually controllable by the operator on the car for shifting saidswingable member into position to be engaged by a member on the car sothat said swingable member will be shifted by the movement of the car,means connected with said swingable member for opening the gate whensaid slidable member is shifted by the car, and means for disengagingthe slidable member to close the gate when the car moves beyond certainlimits.

4. In combination with an elevator car and floor gate; a slidableswingable member adjacent the floor landing, means adapted to beoperated by said swingable member for opening the gate at such floor,means manually operable by the operator on the car for throwing saidswingable member into operative position, means on the car adapted toengage said swingable member when in operative position and actuate saidmember, and means for disengaging said swingable member from the carmeans after the gates are opened when the car moves beyond certainlimits.

5. In combination with an elevator car and gate; of a vertically andlaterally movable member mounted adjacent the path of the ele ator;means manually operable by the operator on the car for causing saidmember to be engaged by members on the car, means connected with saidmovable member for opening the gate when the member is actuated by thecar, members on the car adapted to engage the movable member and movethe same as the car moves, and means for automatically disengaging saidmovable member from the car member if the car moves beyond certainlimits.

6. In combination an elevator car and elevator gate; a cable and drumfor operating said gate, a slidable member adjacent the gate, a trip onsaid member, a cable connecting said slidable member with the drum tooperate the latter when the slidable member is moved vertically, meansmanually operable by the operator on the car for moving the said tripinto position to be engaged by a catch on the car, catchesattached tothe car adapted to engage the trip when in operative position and causesame and the member to move with the car, and cam plates adapted tocause the trip to disengage the catches if the car moves beyond certainlimits.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I aflix my signature.

JAY HARDING COLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C.

